Tanking Pale Master - Seasoned eyes

[Zerenety]

Hey guys. I do not have a TL;DR of this, reading it all is very adviced. The questions will be listed at the bottom of the thread, after all the Info I got.


I am making an WF Pale Master 18Wiz/2Mnk that is beeing built for solo. I still have some lives left to complete, and figured I'll try to figure out an very good gear list.

This guy is gonna focus on heavy tanking ability with Improved Shield mastery and the Improved DR 3/- that WF get through enhancements.
Docent of Defiance is traded out with Docent of Shadow for obvious reasons, Titanic docent will be good for the 30/- DR for 15 sec when it really matters.

Together with this tanking ability, I want to fit in very good damage guards. I ended up with taking guards that would benefit me most fighting Named monsters/bosses, rather than trash.

Here is my current idea:


Head: GS Coops (+45 HP, +5 CON skill)
Necklace: Torc of Prince Rayum-de II
Goggles: GS Lit2 (+150 SP, Minor Good Guard)
Trinket: Litany of the Dead
Body: Epic Docent of Shadow
Cloak: Epic Envenomed Cloak (Heavy Fortification slotted)
Bracers: Bracers of the Demon's Consort
Belt: Lion-headed Belt Buckle
Ring: Rahkir's Ring (+3 eInt)
Ring: Epic Ring of the Mire
Boots: Epic boots of Corrosion (Toughness slotted)

Gloves:
GS Salt (Minor Evil Guard, Lesser Cold Guard, Ice Guard + Corrosive Salt Guard)
or
GS Steam (Minor Cold Guard, Lesser Good Guard, Ice Guard + Steam Guard)

Shield: Levik's Defender, Epic Kundarak Warding Shield (-15% ASF)


With this gear I would have: (Not including the Gloves)

Sonic Guard (1d6 damage on hit)
Minor Good Guard (50% for 1d4 damage on hit)
Lightning Storm Guard (600-650 Damage with around 2-3% procc rate)
Demonic Retribution (20% to apply Inflict Moderate Wound)
Disintregate guard (Around 500 damage with 2-3% procc rate)


Other:

Greater Poison Guard (2d6 STR damage with 28 DC Fortitude)
Demonic Curse (20% Bestow Curse with 15 DC Will)
Roar (Shaken effect with -2 to saves, attack bonus, skill checks and ability checks)


Survival effects:

Coordinate opposition (Applies 30 temporary HP + SP regen with 4-5% rate for both)
Transform Kinetic Energy (10% to regen 20-30 SP)
Boon of Undeath (Inflict Moderate Wound on every hit)
Demonic Shield (20% to apply 30 temporary HP)
Earthern Guard (Applies Stoneskin for 7 min with 10/adamentine DR, 65 Points. Points stack with regular Stoneskin)
Greater Spearblock (DR 10/Pierce. Does not stack with Stoneskin, but comes on the same item)



Some questions:

- Got my Info for this question here: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php...guard+crafting

As you can see, I have listed 2 different options for my GS Gloves (or Belt, see question below).
The thread below list some good information on the estimated damage on hit for each guard.
My reason for beeing unsure is the damage type.
Salt would be better if the Evil and Cold hit everything, but it doesn't.
Steam is a more solid choice with Good and Cold guard, but the Steam hits less than the Salt.

Currently I am biased towards Salt, but I'm not a Math guy, so I could be wrong here. Am I?


- I am currently unsure about my Belt and Gloves setup. Would it be better to place an GS Guard at the Belt and something else at Gloves? the -2 effect is rather poor when everything isn't about Maximizing DC potential.
Would it be better to get Bramble Casters for the Thorn Guard (Greater Thorn Guard)?

I could make a 4th GS with guards on here, but it would not be Steam/Salt since the same guards doesn't stack. Maybe Incineration Guard with x3 Fire Guards, Switched out with Brambles when fighting Fire Immune monsters.


What do you think?

[Keylon]

A few things:
1. Wheres the potency? You might want to slot an epic mask of tragedy.
2. Why heavy fort on Epic Envenomed Cloak you have 100% fort as a pale master.
3. For the belt why not the Eerie Belt + Sanura's Ring so you get the Pale Master set bonus.
4. That Epic Docent of Shadow would be a nice pick but that ONLY if Mabar returns.
5. And since you're going pale master why go WF why not Dwarf you get a save bonus, shield block bonus, and the same hp.
6. Levik's Defender is useless to a pale master too much ASF and the heal proc wont help you because you're immune to it, Lorikk's on the other hand is a good HOX shield. But the Kundarak Warding Shield is the best (most convenient but 3 DR below Levik's and Lorrik's)

[Zerenety]

A few things:
1. Wheres the potency? You might want to slot an epic mask of tragedy.
2. Why heavy fort on Epic Envenomed Cloak you have 100% fort as a pale master.
3. For the belt why not the Eerie Belt + Sanura's Ring so you get the Pale Master set bonus.
4. That Epic Docent of Shadow would be a nice pick but that ONLY if Mabar returns.
5. And since you're going pale master why go WF why not Dwarf you get a save bonus, shield block bonus, and the same hp.
6. Levik's Defender is useless to a pale master too much ASF and the heal proc wont help you because you're immune to it, Lorikk's on the other hand is a good HOX shield. But the Kundarak Warding Shield is the best (most convenient but 3 DR below Levik's and Lorrik's)

1.
If you didn't notice, I have not listed what my Main Hand will wear. This is because it's irrelevant to the topic. Will eather be Superior Clickies / Potency VI (VII if Cove returns)/ Eardweller for that.

2.
Heavy Fortification is to make up for the -50% from the +2 INT Yugo Pot.

3.
That set is a rather weak bonus. it only brings 10% more damage over what Docent of Shadow allready brings, 15% less than a superior clicky and 40% less than Eardweller.
If I wanted more Spell DPS, I would go the Archmage set for the +0.50 to Crit Damage.

4.
Yes, it is only if Mabar returns. If it doesn't, I will just make an fleshie with Abbot robe.
I still think Human beats Dwarf, so that will be option 2.

5.
WF get some nice effects though Docents. Fleshies does also, but WF has more defensive options.
They also get an very nice option when out of form, though this will be minor.
The DR from WF is also superior to the Dwarf. Dwarf only benefit from their 180 degree Shield Blocking Arc, while WF has a consistant +3 DR even without wearing a shield.

Beyond this they are very alike when going Pale Master. The save Bonus that Dwarf brings is not enough to beat the WF abilities, imo.

6.
The Levik's was never for casting, but pure tanking mode. Levik's is also an Tower Shield opposed to Lorrik's beeing an Large Shield, and Tower Shield brings more DR with Shield Mastery Feats.

Also, the Pale Master SLA's are not affected by ASF. So this means I can fully benefit from the Damage Migation while using Necrotic goodies

[Milfeulle]

To be able to tank most of the bosses, I highly recommand you to have more than 600 hp, and some bosses hits you more than you can heal yourself.
Guards are good, but doters and top-tier melee can easily steal your aggro while you're tanking.

[Kmnh]

How will you handle Sunburst? Do you have a good plan to work around that? Are you staying as far away from horoth as possile, or sticking to repair spells?


The Anathema ring is a must have for a tanking wizard. It's your only way to deal with the higher DPS classes.


As another poster said, the Epic Kundarak Warding Shield is amazing. You can slot -15% ASF and Good Luck +2 on it. It will give you +8 on all saves.

[Adken]

You could consider balance of land and sky or elemental mastery on a GS. If you want guards, you can put only guards on that one and it will have a very good chance to trigger several elemental ones. 50% on a minor guard and a guard of 1d4, another of 1d8 and 20% chance to activate an elemental one of 1d6 (that is, 20% for fire, acid, cold and electric, each one).

[blade_of_will]

How will you handle Sunburst? Do you have a good plan to work around that? Are you staying as far away from horoth as possile, or sticking to repair spells?

Granted, I dont know about Horoth's sunbursts (maybe he casts it max+empower+heighten), but sunburst is rarely a large source of damage, even as a pm. With evasion added in (and I assume insightful reflexes) a disintegrate is more likely to hurt.

A couple of gear suggestions - Epic bramble casters for when you want to switch your ring of the mire out for something else, consider looking at crafted shields for content where the dr isnt as important or for levels 1-19, look for some other rings to swap in (ring of the djinn, shamans band). Also, would be nice if you could fit another epic abishai set part on for the cl bonus, to have higher damage and help you maintain aggro (possibly switch your head gs onto belt? cha bonus would also help intim, if you plan on using it).

I think you might not see the return your looking for on your guards - often you may get better damage from a single polar/necrotic ray than you get from all of your possible 1d4/1d6 guards combined. And if the boss has any form of resistance to said guards damage, you would get nothing.

It also would be interesting to see what kind of build setup you have (and possibly important to item choices) and how you plan to hold aggro as a tank.

[Keylon]

Well lets be honest here tanking doesn't really work past LVL16 or so, In HOX you can't tank as a pale master because you'll kill the dogs with your aura, In VOD it's just more practical to have a threat tank (Although in case you didn't know the Anathema(ring) increases your spell threat by 25% but its still nothing compared to a threat tank), In TOD you're gonna be on Orthon duty (Nobody in their right mind would let a low threat character tank Horroth thats just asking for trouble), So far tanking Epic Laylat is just not a practical idea, so tanking is only gonna work on mobs and some lower end bosses. I know I have a pale master tank too.

Oh and another thing that ASF on Leviks its gonna make it pretty **** hard to use your death aura and negative energy burst, both of which you need if you intend to survive.

[Keylon]

1.
If you didn't notice, I have not listed what my Main Hand will wear. This is because it's irrelevant to the topic. Will eather be Superior Clickies / Potency VI (VII if Cove returns)/ Eardweller for that.

2.
Heavy Fortification is to make up for the -50% from the +2 INT Yugo Pot.

3.
That set is a rather weak bonus. it only brings 10% more damage over what Docent of Shadow allready brings, 15% less than a superior clicky and 40% less than Eardweller.
If I wanted more Spell DPS, I would go the Archmage set for the +0.50 to Crit Damage.

4.
Yes, it is only if Mabar returns. If it doesn't, I will just make an fleshie with Abbot robe.
I still think Human beats Dwarf, so that will be option 2.

5.
WF get some nice effects though Docents. Fleshies does also, but WF has more defensive options.
They also get an very nice option when out of form, though this will be minor.
The DR from WF is also superior to the Dwarf. Dwarf only benefit from their 180 degree Shield Blocking Arc, while WF has a consistant +3 DR even without wearing a shield.

Beyond this they are very alike when going Pale Master. The save Bonus that Dwarf brings is not enough to beat the WF abilities, imo.

6.
The Levik's was never for casting, but pure tanking mode. Levik's is also an Tower Shield opposed to Lorrik's beeing an Large Shield, and Tower Shield brings more DR with Shield Mastery Feats.

Also, the Pale Master SLA's are not affected by ASF. So this means I can fully benefit from the Damage Migation while using Necrotic goodies

In response to #5 the WF DR isn't a bad option but you can always get a bloodrage symbiont which gives you 5 DR/-, that's better than the WF DR or if Mabar comes back Epic Cloak of Night with 5 DR/Good and Nightmare Guard. These two options save you quite a few enhancement points you can use to make your spells stronger.

[Oran_Lathor]

I tank horoth all the time on my pale master. His sunburst hits for around 60 on a passed save (all but a 1) and less than a disintegrate on a fail. With a monk splash, it will be doing 0dmg on all but a 1.

Also, the build should break 600hp easy. I had my h-elf PM as an 18/2 for a while and was at 667.

[Oran_Lathor]

Well lets be honest here tanking doesn't really work past LVL16 or so, In HOX you can't tank as a pale master because you'll kill the dogs with your aura, In VOD it's just more practical to have a threat tank (Although in case you didn't know the Anathema(ring) increases your spell threat by 25% but its still nothing compared to a threat tank), In TOD you're gonna be on Orthon duty (Nobody in their right mind would let a low threat character tank Horroth thats just asking for trouble), So far tanking Epic Laylat is just not a practical idea, so tanking is only gonna work on mobs and some lower end bosses. I know I have a pale master tank too.

Oh and another thing that ASF on Leviks its gonna make it pretty **** hard to use your death aura and negative energy burst, both of which you need if you intend to survive.

Low threat? Let his eardwellered dots spark and no one is pulling agro. This build could tank horoth easily with that kind of gear.

[blade_of_will]

The issue I would see for an arcane taking horoth, assuming he could hold aggro, is sp. Due to how long it can take to kill him (mainly if someone dies, though, its uncommon to see someone other than the tank die first), you might need a hefty supply of pots to keep him focused on you. A secondary issue could be that divines cant scroll-heal you in form (I think? they are unlikely to have harm scrolls anyway) and if you are selfhealing, thats another large sp drain.

[Zerenety]

I see I have created alot of misunderstanding here.
I will bring up some quotes of what you have responded, do not take this personally
It is just to make things clear.

To be able to tank most of the bosses, I highly recommand you to have more than 600 hp, and some bosses hits you more than you can heal yourself.
Guards are good, but doters and top-tier melee can easily steal your aggro while you're tanking.

If we read the first part of my post, it will say;
I am making an WF Pale Master 18Wiz/2Mnk that is beeing built for solo.

Holding aggro is actully irrelevant to this topic, though I still feel I have a good chance with Eardwelled dots and good guards..

How will you handle Sunburst? Do you have a good plan to work around that? Are you staying as far away from horoth as possile, or sticking to repair spells?

Sunburst actully has an Reflex save (<3), thus making the 18/2 exeptionally good.
Another thing is that a Pale Master WF can NOT heal himself with repair while in form. I know... sadface..
But together with 75% (100%) boost clickie, 45% boost + 9% Crit procc + x1,5 Crit from PM III, 12% Crit procc + x0.50 Crit from Epic Shadow = Very good Negative burst and Aura. And the burst can also be manipulated through Metas like repair.

In response to #5 the WF DR isn't a bad option but you can always get a bloodrage symbiont which gives you 5 DR/-, that's better than the WF DR or if Mabar comes back Epic Cloak of Night with 5 DR/Good and Nightmare Guard.

The DR from Bloodrage does NOT stack with Stoneskin. This is a fact, along with all other DR/-
Thing about the WF DR, is;

"The Warforged Feats and Enhancements that improve DR are special cases. These benefits explicitly say they grant DR/Adamantine or improve your existing DR/Adamantine. They stack with your single strongest other source of Adamantine DR, whether it comes from a Warforged racial benefit or something else."

This is why the WF DR is so special.




There are alot of other responses on the matter aswell, but I feel these answers should cover the spesifics.




Now! For charity I will post my Planned build, since some of you wished for it.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.09.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Neutral Warforged Male
(2 Monk \ 18 Wizard) 
Hit Points: 347
Spell Points: 1393 
BAB: 10\10\15\20
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 18
Will: 13

                  Starting            Ending          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats         Base Stats         Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)          (Level 20)           (Level 20)
Strength             12                 14                   14
Dexterity             8                 10                   10
Constitution         20                 23                   25
Intelligence         18                 26                   29
Wisdom                6                  8                    8
Charisma              6                  8                    8

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 11
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 11

                  Starting            Ending          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills        Base Skills        Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)          (Level 20)          (Level 20)
Balance               3                 23                   23
Bluff                -2                 -1                   -1
Concentration         9                 30                   31
Diplomacy             2                 22                   22
Disable Device        n/a               n/a                   n/a
Haggle               -2                 -1                   -1
Heal                 -2                 -1                   -1
Hide                  3                  4                    4
Intimidate           -2                 -1                   -1
Jump                  1                  2                    2
Listen               -2                 -1                   -1
Move Silently        -1                  0                    0
Open Lock            n/a                n/a                   n/a
Perform              n/a               n/a                   n/a
Repair                4                  9                    9
Search                4                  9                    9
Spot                  2                 22                   22
Swim                  5                  6                    6
Tumble                3                 11                   11
Use Magic Device      0                 10                   10

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Selected) Shield Proficiency (General)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness


Level 2 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Extend Spell


Level 3 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Arcane Initiate


Level 4 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT


Level 5 (Wizard)


Level 6 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell
Feat: (Selected) Shield Mastery 
Mental Toughness will have this spot until lvl 20


Level 7 (Wizard)


Level 8 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT


Level 9 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Insightful Reflexes
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Toughness


Level 10 (Wizard)


Level 11 (Wizard)


Level 12 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Necromancy


Level 13 (Wizard)


Level 14 (Wizard)


Level 15 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell


Level 16 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT


Level 17 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Quicken Spell


Level 18 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Shield Mastery
Since I'm not switching in Shield Mastery until lvl 20, I will have to use a stone to grab this one.


Level 19 (Wizard)


Level 20 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Heightening I
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Heightening II
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Maximizing I
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Maximizing II
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Glacial Spellcasting I
Enhancement: Charged Spellcasting I
Enhancement: Deadly Ice I
Enhancement: Deadly Shocks I
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation I
Enhancement: Storm Manipulation I
Enhancement: Flame Manipulation I
Enhancement: Force Manipulation I
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar I
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar II
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar III
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence I
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence II
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence III
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II
Enhancement: Warforged Damage Reduction I
Enhancement: Warforged Damage Reduction II
Enhancement: Warforged Damage Reduction III
Enhancement: Warforged Inscribed Armor I
Enhancement: Shroud of the Lich
Enhancement: Wizard Pale Master I
Enhancement: Wizard Pale Master II
Enhancement: Wizard Pale Master III

Constitution: 25base + 7item + 4lich + 1litany + 1eCon = 38
Intelligence: 29base + 7item + 2lich + 1litany + 3eInt = 42

Not counted in external effects.

These Abilities are modified by +3 Tomes, so what would I do with +4 Tomes?
Simple:
+4 CON = Rid myself of 1 CON Enhancement and put this into Racial Toughness IV or +1 Spell Pin
+4 INT = No need to use +7 Int items anymore, so Rahkir's ring will fill everything. More versatility.


Just give me an little poke on my shoulder if anything else is unclear for you, I will clear it up

thanks

[blade_of_will]

The only reason holding aggro would be irrelevant is if you dont actually plan to tank with the build, or plan for it to be a soloist. Which you may. However, most people prefer tanks to be able to hold aggro.

Diplomacy doesnt really make sense to take. You want your tank to lose aggro?

I would drop your second toughness or extend to keep mental toughness. Wraith form should give you more pure survivability in most cases while tanking bosses. While it would negate your guards somewhat, there may be cases where this is more important. Wraith + concealment + displacement (if applicable) is a very nice combo. Lich form is useful, but as you said, DC isnt as important to you, so its a comparison between +4 con and a stacking 25% miss chance.

I would additionally suggest taking rogue instead of monk, and max out intimidate (since its a class skill for rogues) and use that to boost your threat. This would however cost you a feat, and thus make fitting in wraith even more difficult, and would only be useful if you do need more threat to hold aggro. But it would make you less dependent on sp to hold aggro for longer fights (eg: tod with suulo kill, esp if ppl die).

[Kmnh]

So, if you roll a 1 on a disintegrate you take 500 damage, and if you roll a 1 on a sunburst you also take 500+ damage

That seems dangerous. It may be worth it tostay out of lich form and use repairs

[Zerenety]

The only reason holding aggro would be irrelevant is if you dont actually plan to tank with the build, or plan for it to be a soloist. Which you may. However, most people prefer tanks to be able to hold aggro.

Diplomacy doesnt really make sense to take. You want your tank to lose aggro?

I would drop your second toughness or extend to keep mental toughness. Wraith form should give you more pure survivability in most cases while tanking bosses. While it would negate your guards somewhat, there may be cases where this is more important. Wraith + concealment + displacement (if applicable) is a very nice combo. Lich form is useful, but as you said, DC isnt as important to you, so its a comparison between +4 con and a stacking 25% miss chance.

Maybe the meaning of "Tank" has different meaning for us. My approach is not towards aggro managment with a group.

Diplomacy is good together with Mass Suggestion and Persuasion Symbol. Also the Stalemate II brings me +10 Diplo.

I can't drop one toughness, since it's a Monk bonus feat. I can only switch it out for saves and such.
So, in this case, x2 Toughness is the best choice.

So, if you roll a 1 on a disintegrate you take 500 damage, and if you roll a 1 on a sunburst you also take 500+ damage

That seems dangerous. It may be worth it tostay out of lich form and use repairs

hehe, yeah. I will try compensate with a large HP pool that is allways healthy :P


But in all seriousness, this thread was never about how I will play my build. Let alone the build itself.
This thread is about me turtling behind an shield, and discussing which gear setup would be the best.


I showed my playstyle and build because you asked, not because I wanted opinions on it.

[Milfeulle]

I see I have created alot of

If we read the first part of my post, it will say;
I am making an WF Pale Master 18Wiz/2Mnk that is beeing built for solo.

Holding aggro is actully irrelevant to this topic, though I still feel I have a good chance with Eardwelled dots and good guards..

Let's ignore the aggro holding part, the key here is that there's no way you can keep up your heals under lich form while tanking Horoth, Conjoined Abishai Devastator, and some other bosses. Failed disintegrate will hits you more than 500 dmg, and after U11, even bloodplate can hit you 200 dmg with a swing.

For your reference, my human sorc can tank easily due to her 637 fully buffed hp, top dps, and silver flame pot that can heal 500+ hp every 3 second plus a healer will watch over my hp.

[Zerenety]

Let's ignore the aggro holding part, the key here is that there's no way you can keep up your heals under lich form while tanking Horoth, Conjoined Abishai Devastator, and some other bosses. Failed disintegrate will hits you more than 500 dmg, and after U11, even bloodplate can hit you 200 dmg with a swing.

For your reference, my human sorc can tank easily due to her 637 fully buffed hp, top dps, and silver flame pot that can heal 500+ hp every 3 second plus a healer will watch over my hp.

IF I wont be able, I wont. That's that. Nothing more to talk about.

My build will be 600+ HP fully buffed aswell, meaning I can survive failed saves and heal myself up again.
I will allways keep my faith with my build and playstyle, since it's the thing that keeps me playing this game.

Now, enough about that.

[blade_of_will]

Its important to understand the build, otherwise any suggestions for changes in items may invalidate what your trying to do with it (and partly my curiosity, as I am trying something similar, though with a much different gear setup). As it is, I'm still not entirely clear what you want. You indicated you picked guards specifically to work on Nameds, but how are those guards procing if you the named stuff doesnt hit you?.. is my thought on why you should care about aggro management. Perhaps you could clarify what you mean by 'tank' or what you want your build to do.

If its just solo, specifically for epics, Im not sure if I would completely neglect dc/trash killing-based gear, and I doubt the elemental/good/evil guards would have large enough of an impact to be worth taking.

You could consider switching your head gs to gloves, wear a minos, and replace your cloak since the poison guard isnt likely to do a ton for you (I could be wrong here, but if its a DC28 save, 2d6 str damage, with epic stat regen and it only working when they roll a 1 if they arent outright immune..) and pick up a cloak of the night or the u11 emirror cloak, then change up AP a bit to make con even again. You might need to epic your belt or slot +6con on your boots of corrosion though.

[Milfeulle]

IF I wont be able, I wont. That's that. Nothing more to talk about.

My build will be 600+ HP fully buffed aswell, meaning I can survive failed saves and heal myself up again.
I will allways keep my faith with my build and playstyle, since it's the thing that keeps me playing this game.

Now, enough about that.

Just a friendly advice, I'm not trying to stop you, if you have ever tanked in ToD or Chrono before, then you know what I'm talking about. There's a reason why people won't do it.